Rob Sanders: A Writer Who Teaches and a Teacher Who Writes
The Writing Barn offered me a scholarship to participate in a nonfiction picture book writing workshop with Rob Sanders. The workshop lasted several weeks and provided both group and individual guidance. As individuals, we set goals, analyzed our writing personalities, determined our strengths and areas we wanted to improve, explored books and a variety of sources on craft, and arranged a weekly session to treat ourselves as a writer. As a group, we met via Zoom, and Rob conducted lessons on craft using published books to illustrate the lesson. We were given time to apply the lesson to our own writing, and we could share our work if we wanted to do so.
A book that celebrates diversity.
At various points during the term, we submitted our manuscripts to Rob, and he provided extensive and meaningful feedback. Prior to submitting, he asked us to write down at least three “problems” we might want specific help improving. For example, I have trouble bringing out the emotional aspect of my main characters, so that might be what I’d like to focus on for the next revision. I appreciated the way he gave me a glimpse of my story through a wide lens, then he zoomed in on the details. I always felt as though Rob’s suggestions helped me to revise my manuscript in a way that got me closer to the story I wanted to tell.
Told from the point of view of a book, Rob captures the emotional journey of a book who loves her home in the library. She loves being a book, she loves the children who read, share, and discuss her until the day she is taken from her home. Book Comes Home is a kid-friendly story about book banning.
It was a privilege to work with Rob and to get to know him as not only a mentor, but also as a writer. Rob writes fabulous picture books, tackling sensitive topics with grace and compassion. Writers looking for strong feedback can sign up on his website: robsanderswrites.com. Rob is popular, and he’s often booked solid, so I encourage you to get on his waiting list.
